ANKARA — Turkey has seized a German ship loaded with Iranian weapons
destined for Syria.

Turkish sources said the Turkish Navy intercepted the Atlantic Cruiser
on April 17 in the eastern Mediterranean near the coast of Syria.

The sources said Atlantic Cruiser, owned by Germany’s Bockstiegel and
carrying the flags of Antigua and Barbuda, was taken to the Turkish
port in Iskenderun for inspection.

“The inspection will take place over the next several days,” a source
said.

The sources said NATO began tracking Atlantic Cruiser since it left
Djibouti for Syria in early April. They said the 6,200-ton vessel,
chartered by Ukraine’s White Whale Shipping, was believed to be
carrying missiles, rockets and other munitions for the regime of
Syrian President Bashar Assad.

At one point, the sources said, Atlantic Cruiser shut off its tracking
system in what appeared to be an effort to avoid detection by NATO
naval forces. They said the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet joined Germany
and Turkey in searching for the vessel.